Association Between Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Serum Aminotransferases And Body Mass Index: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)’ is a newly recognized condition that is increasingly prevalent worldwide and connected with obesity and metabolic syndrome. This research focused on establishing the correlation between BMI and serum aminotransferase levels with NAFLD using a cross-sectional study design. Out of 315 patients with NAFLD, 193 were male and 122 were female diagnosed by ultrasonography. According to WHO classification, BMI was calculated, and serum aminotransferases: The liver function was also tested by estimating ‘alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)’. Most patients were overweight or obese, 61.59%, and the results showed that as BMI increased, ALT and AST levels also increased significantly. However, 38.41% of participants had normal or low BMI, which means that lean NAFLD was present among them. The authors also found that there was no difference in the prevalence of NAFLD between male and female patients. Obese patients had greater severity of liver dysfunction as evidenced by increased aminotransferase levels. The results indicate that BMI is an independent risk factor for NAFLD, yet serum aminotransferase levels are important for determining liver damage in people with normal weight. BMI, serum aminotransferases, and ultrasonography should be routinely used in the screening for NAFLD to ensure early diagnosis and management.